Cable exit trough with cover

ABSTRACT

A cable exit trough with pivoting cover. The cover having a cover plate and a pivot plate hingedly mounted thereto for easy access to the trough. The exit trough may define an insert aperture for receiving modular cable management inserts. The modular insert providing an additional cable management device such as a curved guidewall. The cable management device may alternatively be fixed to the cable exit trough. Removable snap-mounted flanges may also be included in the exit trough.

“This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/680,779,filed Oct. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,683 which application(s) areincorporated herein by reference.”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to systems for the management and routing ofoptical fiber cables.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the telecommunications industry, the use of optical fibers for signaltransmission is accelerating. With the increased utilization of opticalfiber systems, optical fiber cable management requires industryattention.

On area where optical fiber management is necessary is the routing ofoptical fibers from one piece of optical fiber equipment to another. Forexample, in a telecommunications facility, optical fiber cables may berouted between fiber distribution equipment and optical line terminatingequipment. In buildings and other structures which carry such equipment,the cable routing can take place in concealed ceiling areas or in anyother manner to route cables from one location to another.

When routing optical fibers, it is desirable that any routing systemwill be readily modifiable and adaptable to changes in equipment needs.Accordingly a routing system is not practical which would require a highcapital outlay and which could not be readily adapted to changes in acustomer's needs. Namely, if routing paths, once established, areforever fixed, the system cannot adapt. Also, and perhaps mostimportant, any routing system must protect optical fibers from damage.In the use of optical fibers, it is recognized that the fibers shouldnot bend beyond a minimum radius of curvature. For example, it iscommonly recognized that optical fibers should not be bent in a radiusof less than 1.5 inches. U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,131 discloses an opticalcable exit trough addressing some of these concerns, however, thereremains room for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, a cablerouting system is disclosed for routing optical fiber cables betweenoptical transmission equipment. The system includes a lateral troughsection configured for defining a cable pathway. An exit trough ismountable to the lateral trough section to provide a cable exit pathwayfrom the lateral trough section. The exit trough includes a bracketportion mountable to a top edge of the lateral trough section. Twocurved lead-ins on opposite ends of the bracket portion each define acable pathway leading to an exit trough portion extending from a middleof the bracket portion in a direction away from the lateral troughsection. The lead-in portions are configured to receive removableflanges for improved cable management. The exit trough portion includesa convexly curved bottom trough surface, and two convexly curvedupstanding sides on opposite sides of the bottom trough surface. Theexit trough may be covered by an exit cover which includes a cover platehingedly mounted to a pivot plate. The exit cover is disposed over theexit trough and the lateral trough section. The hingedly mounted pivotplate allows access to the lateral trough section without having toremove the entire cover.

The exit trough defines a cable pathway leading upwardly and away fromthe lateral trough section. The exit trough is mountable to the lateraltrough section without modification to the lateral trough section. Theexit trough can be placed generally at any location along the lateraltrough section, and can be placed during initial system setup, or at alater time as the need arises for an exit pathway from the lateraltrough section, such as when new optical transmission equipment is addedto the system. The exit trough may include a downspout portion defininga downwardly directed cable pathway, or other directional pathway asdesired. The cover allows access to the lateral trough section whenadding or removing cables without having to remove the cover from theexit trough.

Differently sized pivot plates can be provided for different widths oflateral trough sections.

In one embodiment, the bottom trough surface may include an upstandingguidewall for cable management. In a further embodiment, the exit troughincludes an aperture for receiving a removable insert. The removableinsert includes a major surface forming a portion of the bottom troughsurface of the exit trough. The removable insert may include anupstanding guidewall for improving cable management.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows perspective view of an exit trough assembly according tothe present invention mounted to a lateral trough.

FIG. 1 a is second perspective view of the exit trough assembly of FIG.1.

FIG. 1 b is a perspective view of the exit trough assembly of FIG. 1 ashowing the pivot plate in a closed position.

FIG. 2 shows a disassembled view of the exit trough assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the exit trough assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exit trough according to the presentinvention with two flanges shown removed from the trough.

FIG. 4 a is a perspective view of the exit trough of FIG. 4 showing bothflanges attached to the exit trough.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the exit trough of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the exit trough of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the exit trough of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an exit trough according to the presentinvention and showing a removed modular insert piece.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the modular insert shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the modular insert of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the modular insert of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the modular insert of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the exit trough of FIG. 8 with the insert pieceremoved, thereby exposing an insert aperture.

FIG. 14 is a front view of the exit trough of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an exit trough according to the presentinvention and showing a removed modular insert piece with guidewall thatcurves in a first direction as it leads toward the downspout.

FIG. 16 is a top view of the exit trough of FIG. 15 with the modularinsert piece placed within the exit trough according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 17 is a front view of the exit trough of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an exit trough according to the presentinvention and showing a removed modular insert piece with guidewall thatcurves in a second direction as it leads toward the downspout.

FIG. 19 is a top view of the exit trough of FIG. 18 with the modularinsert piece placed within the exit trough according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 20 is a front view of the exit trough of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a disassembled perspective view of an exit cover according tothe present invention.

FIG. 22 is a top view of a cover plate according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 is a front view of the cover plate of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a side view of the cover plate of FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a side view of an exit cover according to the presentinvention showing the pivot plate in a closed position.

FIG. 26 is a side view of the exit cover of FIG. 25 showing the pivotplate in an open position.

FIG. 27 is a side view of a pivot plate according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 28 is a front view of the pivot plate of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a top view of the pivot plate of FIG. 27.

FIG. 30 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of a pivot plateaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a top view of another alternative embodiment of a pivot plateaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a first perspective view of a removable flange according tothe present invention.

FIG. 33 is a second perspective view of the flange of FIG. 32

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1–3, a first embodiment of an exit trough 100 isshown mounted to a lateral trough section 20. Lateral trough section 20defines a cable pathway 22 for routing optical fiber cables betweenlocations. Lateral trough section 20 and exit trough 100 can be part ofa cable routing system typically within a structure, such as a buildinghaving optical fiber signal transmitting equipment. Lateral troughsection 20 typically is suspended from a ceiling structure by anysuitable means (not shown). U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,067,678 and 5,316,243disclose various cable routing systems, including lateral troughsections like lateral trough section 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1–3. Exittrough 100 is not only usable with lateral trough section 20 shown inFIGS. 1–3, but also with other cable routing systems disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,067,678 and 5,316,243, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference, and other cable routing systems. Exit trough100 is an improvement over the exit troughs shown and described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,937,131, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

Generally, lateral trough section 20 includes first and secondupstanding sides 24, 26, and a bottom 28 extending therebetween anddefining cable pathway 22. Side 24 includes a top edge 30. Opposite side26 also includes similar top edge 32. Lateral trough section 20 includesa plurality of attachment members 34 on an outside portion for use inattaching lateral trough sections 20 together end to end, or addingother system hardware.

As will be described below, exit trough 100 mounts to lateral troughsection 20 adjacent to top edge 30 of side 24. Exit trough 100 creates acable exit pathway from lateral trough section 20. Preferably, exittrough 100 mounts to lateral trough section 20 through attachment member34, such as with a fastener.

Exit trough 100 includes a bracket portion 102 including an outerprojecting member 104, an inner projecting member 106, and a connectingmember 108. Bracket portion 102 generally defines a U-shape for receiptof a portion of side 24 such that top edge 30 is positioned adjacent toconnecting member 108. Exit trough 100 conveniently and securely mountsto lateral trough section 20 via one or more fasteners positionedthrough outer projecting member 104 and engaged with attachment member34 of lateral trough section 20. The exit trough 100 may also include asupport arm 10 extending from the bottom side of the lateral troughsection 20 to a point beneath the exit trough 100.

For protection of the optical fiber cables, inner projecting member 106of bracket portion 102 is tapered. As shown in FIG. 4, bracket portion102 generally extends from a first end 116 to a second end 118. A middle120 is positioned between the first and second ends 116, 118. At firstand second ends 116, 118, two cable lead-ins 124, 134 are provided.First lead-in 124 includes an upper surface portion 126 having anupwardly curved shape. Second lead-in 134 at an opposite end of bracketportion 102 faces in an opposite direction to first lead-in 124. Secondlead-in 134 includes a similarly configured upwardly curved surface 136.

The two cable lead-ins 124 and 134 each define a slot 119 and hole 121for receiving snap-mounted removable flanges 123 and 125. Flanges 123and 125 each include a downwardly depending surface 127 which, whenflanges 123 and 125 are snap-mounted to the lead-ins 124 and 134, definecable pathways between the flanges 123 and 125 and the inner projectingmember 106 of the bracket portion 102 to assist with cable management.Flanges 123 and 125 are optional, and provide a downwardly dependingflange structure to assist with cable management and retention of thecable when desired. Flanges 123 and 125 include posts or tabs 122 whichare received by the slot 119 and hole 121 of the cable lead-ins forsnap-mounting of the flanges 123 and 125. The flanges 123 and 125 mayalso include an alignment rail 122′ to assist in mounting the flange tothe exit trough 100.

Exit trough 100 includes an exit trough portion 144 extending frombracket portion 102 at middle 120 away from lateral trough section 20.Exit trough portion 144 includes a bottom trough surface 146 andupstanding sides 148 on opposite sides of bottom trough surface 146.Generally bottom trough surface 146 extends upwardly and away from topedge 30 of lateral trough section 20, and includes a convex shape.Upstanding sides 148 extend from each respective lead-in 124, 134, andalso define convex shapes. Exit trough portion 144 defines a cablepathway linked to cable pathway 22 of lateral trough section 20 viacable pathways of the lead-ins 124, 134.

In exit trough 100, exit trough portion 144 links lateral trough section20 to a downspout 160. Downspout 160 generally provides a cable pathwayfor cable exiting in a downward direction relative to lateral troughsection 20.

Significantly, the bottom trough surface 146 may define an insertaperture 151. The insert aperture is configured to receive a removablemodular insert piece 161. The insert aperture 151 may receive modularinserts each having different cable management components. For instance,as seen in FIGS. 4, 4 a and 6–12, an insert piece 161 may simply beflat, having no cable management component. Alternatively, the insertpiece (as seen in FIGS. 15–20) may have an upstanding guidewall 171 forarranging cables as they pass from the lateral trough to the exittrough. The guidewall 171 may be curved so as to manage and protect thecable being guided. The guidewall 171 helps keep the cables frombunching up, such as may occur as greater and greater numbers of cablesexit the trough 20. It may be advantageous in some situations for theguidewall to curve in a first direction from end 135 a of the exittrough as it leads toward the downspout, and in other situations it maybe advantageous for the guidewall to curve in an opposite direction fromopposite end 135 b toward downspout 160. Therefore, an insert piece maybe configured to have a guidewall 171 that curves from end 135 a towarddownspout 160 (shown in FIGS. 15–17 as insert 161′), or alternativelyfrom end 135 b (shown in FIGS. 18–20 as insert 161″) With an exit troughhaving an insert aperture 151, the exit trough may be assembled quicklyand easily with the desired configuration. Further, the exit rough canbe quickly and easily modified to meet changing needs.

Referring now to FIGS. 8–12, modular insert piece 161 includes a curvedmajor surface 163 having a first convex side 165 and a second concaveside 167. The major surface 163 has edges 169. The insert piece 161includes guide tabs 173 extending from two edges of the major surface163 on the concave side 167 of the major surface. The guide tabs 173 mayeach include a detent ridge 175 configured to engage a retaining wall177 of the cable exit trough. Notches 174 mate with protrusions 152 onthe cable exit trough. The modular insert piece 161 may also include aplurality of alignment pins 179 protruding from the concave side 167 ofthe major surface 163. The alignment pins 179 are spaced to be receivedby alignment holes 181 in the cable exit trough seen in FIGS. 8, 13, 15and 18. The guide tabs 173 protrude below exit trough 100, to providestructure to release insert piece 161 so the insert piece can be changedas desired.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 20, bottom trough surface 146 may include anupstanding guidewall 171 dividing the cable pathway of the exit troughportion 144 for improving cable management. The guidewall 171 preferablyis curved to prevent damage to the cable. The guidewall may beincorporated into an insert piece or may be formed directly on thebottom trough surface 146.

With exit trough 100 mounted to lateral trough section 20, cableextending generally horizontally to the ground through lateral troughsection 20 is allowed to route upwardly and away from lateral troughsection 20, and then to route downwardly through downspout 160 forconnection to optical transmission equipment, or other uses. Downspout160 is connectable via any suitable means to other cable routingcomponents, such as vertical troughs or conduit, as desired. The variouscurves provided with exit trough 100 help protect the optical fibercables from being bent beyond a minimum radius of curvature.

The disclosed exit trough 100 allows for exit pathways from the lateraltrough section 20 without modification to the lateral trough section 20.This is useful during initial system setup, and also duringmodifications of the system at later dates. Exit trough 100 can be addedat any time quickly and easily. Cable damage is avoided since any cablesin lateral trough section 20 are not disturbed and do not have to bemoved when exit troughs 100 are added. Also, fasteners are all that isneeded to mount the preferred bracket portion 102 of the exit trough 100to the lateral trough section 20. In addition to the downspout 160 otherdirectional components are possible from exit trough portions 144 ofexit trough 100 such as horizontal portions which lead horizontally awayfrom the lateral trough instead of vertically.

The preferred embodiments of exit trough 100 also include an exit cover31. The cover 31 prevents dust and other foreign material from fallinginto or collecting inside the exit trough and lateral trough whileallowing easy access to the troughs. As shown in FIGS. 21–26, the exitcover 31 includes a cover plate 33. The cover plate 33 is sized andshaped to cover the cable pathways of the lead-ins 124 and 134 as wellas the cable pathway of the exit trough portion 144 and the lateraltrough 20. The cover plate 33 is configured with hinge posts 35. Thecover 31 includes a pivoting door or pivot plate 37. The pivot plate 37defines hinge tabs 39 for rotatably receiving the hinge posts 35 of thecover plate 33. Alternatively, the cover plate 33 may be configured withthe hinge tabs 39 and the pivot plate 37 may be configured with thehinge posts 35 to be received by the hinge tabs 39 of the cover plate33. The hinge posts 35 and hinge tabs 39 define a hinge axis which isparallel to the lateral trough section 20.

The cover plate 33 includes retention tabs or clips 41 which incombination with detent grooves 43 or clips 43′ in the exit troughsecure the exit cover 31 to the exit trough 100. The cover plate 33includes downward outer lips 49, and the pivot plate includes a downwardouter lip 51 to surround and protect lateral trough section 20 and exittrough 100. The cover plate 33 is roughly t-shaped with the post of the“T” curving downward to cover the downspout 160. Cover plate 33 includessidewalls 33′ to cover the lead-ins of the exit trough 100. In addition,as shown in FIGS. 29–31, the pivot plate 37 may be made in varying sizesfor covering larger or smaller lateral troughs.

The pivot plate 37 may be pivoted relative to the cover plate 33 betweenan open position as shown in FIG. 26 and a closed position as shown inFIG. 25. When the pivot plate 37 is in the open position relative to thecover plate 33, an access port is created between the upstanding side 26of the lateral trough section and the cover plate 33, thereby allowinginsertion or removal of cables from the trough. In this way, cables maybe inserted or removed to or from the lateral trough without thecumbersome step of completely removing the entire cover 31 from the exittrough 100. This often occurs when a new downspout and exit trough isadded for new cables. The upstream exit troughs can each be covered witha cover 31. Only the pivot plates 37 of the covers 31 need to be movedto drop in new cables.

Having described the present invention in its preferred embodiment,modifications and equivalents may occur to one skilled in the art. It isintended that such modifications and equivalents shall be includedwithin the scope of the claims which are appended hereto.

1. A cable pathway outlet mountable to a cable pathway having a firstside wall terminating in a top edge, said pathway outlet comprising: (a)an exit assembly for being mounted over the top of the top edge of thepathway for supporting a cable passing between the pathway and a pointoutside the pathway; (b) an exit assembly cover for being positionedonto the exit assembly for enclosing the cable passing between thepathway and a point outside the pathway; and (c) a pathway cover carriedby the exit assembly cover for covering a top opening of the pathwaydefined by the first side wall and a second, laterally spaced-apart sidewall.
 2. The cable pathway outlet of claim 1, wherein the exit assemblyincludes a plurality of parallel walls defining individual exit paths.3. The cable pathway outlet of claim 1, wherein the pathway cover ismounted for movement between an open position allowing access to thepathway and a closed position covering the top opening of the pathway.4. The cable pathway outlet of claim 1, further including mountingstructure carried by the exit assembly for contacting one of an inner oran outer surface of the side wall.
 5. The cable pathway outlet of claim4, wherein the mounting structure includes first and second membershaving a U-shape, the first member being positioned adjacent to theinner surface of the side wall and the second member being positionedadjacent to the outer surface of the side wall.
 6. The cable pathwayoutlet of claim 1, wherein the exit assembly includes first and secondcurved walls for being positioned above the top edge of the cablepathway, the first curved wall defined by a radius perpendicular to alongitudinal dimension of the cable pathway, and the second curved walldefined by a radius parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the cablepathway.
 7. The cable pathway outlet of claim 6, wherein the first andsecond curved walls are integrally-formed and include an intermediatecable support wall.
 8. The cable pathway outlet of claim 7, wherein theintermediate cable support wall is an upstanding side wall.
 9. The cablepathway outlet of claim 1, wherein the exit assembly defines individualexit paths.
 10. The cable pathway outlet of claim 9, wherein the exitassembly includes a guidewall that defines the individual exit paths.11. The cable pathway outlet of claim 10, wherein the guidewall definesfirst and second individual exit paths.
 12. The cable pathway outlet ofclaim 11, wherein the guidewall is selectively removeable from the exitassembly.
 13. A method of exiting a cable from a cable pathway,comprising the steps of: (a) providing a cable pathway outlet includingan exit assembly for being mounted over the top of a top edge of thepathway for supporting a cable passing between the pathway and a pointoutside the pathway, the cable pathway outlet further including a aninterconnected pathway cover moveable between an open position allowingaccess to the pathway and a closed position covering an open top of thepathway; (b) placing the exit assembly onto the top edge of the cablepathway without any alteration to a pathway sidewall and the top edgethereof (c) adjusting the position of the exit assembly to the correctposition to exit the cable at the correct position; (d) moving thepathway cover between the open position allowing access to the pathwayand the closed position covering an open top of the pathway as needed toplace or remove cable from the pathway; and (e) moving the pathwayoutlet to a new position relative to the pathway as needed.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further including the step of removing at least onecable from the pathway and passing it from the pathway through the exitassembly of the cable pathway outlet.
 15. The method of claim 13,further including the step of placing an exit assembly cover onto theexit assembly for protecting the cable therein.
 16. The method of claim15, further including: (a) providing a pathway cover carried by the exitassembly cover; (b) moving the pathway cover into the closed positionfor covering the open top of the pathway; and (c) moving the pathwaycover into the open position for exposing the open top of the pathway.17. A method of exiting a cable from a cable pathway, and comprising thesteps of: (a) providing a cable pathway outlet including an exitassembly for being mounted over the top of a top edge of the pathway forsupporting a cable passing between the pathway and a point outside thepathway, and including a pathway cover carried by an exit assemblycover, the pathway cover being moveable between an open positionallowing access to the pathway and a closed position covering an opentop of the pathway; (b) placing the exit assembly onto the top edge ofthe cable pathway without any alteration to a pathway sidewall and topedge thereof; (c) adjusting the position of the exit assembly to thecorrect position to exit the cable at the correct position; (d) movingthe pathway cover between the open position allowing access to thepathway and the closed position covering the open top of the pathway asneeded to place or remove cable from the pathway; (e) placing the exitassembly cover onto the exit assembly for protecting the cable therein;(f) moving the pathway cover into the closed position for covering theopen top of the pathway; and (g) moving the pathway cover into the openposition for exposing the open top of the pathway.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, further including the step of moving the pathway outlet to anew position relative to the pathway.